Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Pursuing Long-Term Goals

July 2, 2018 07:13 am

by: Wendy Thompson Lorenz, missionary to Costa Rica

Have you ever had to do something that you were not very good at? Grit is doing what is difficult now because you desire to achieve a future goal. In Spanish class, my teacher asked me (in Spanish, of course) what my purpose for being there was. I said, “to learn Spanish.” Another girl said it was to share the love of Jesus with people in Latin America, and yet another student said that she was following God. My long-term goal is to always follow God, wherever He sends me, and to share the love of Jesus wherever I go. But at this time in my life, to do both of these things, I need to be able to communicate in Spanish.

And let me tell you a little secret, learning Spanish is hard, really, really hard. There are rabbits and the tortoises in language learning, and without a doubt, I’m a tortoise. I hear this little voice in my head saying, “You’re never going to get this. You’re way behind the other students. It would just be easier to go back to the States where you can speak English.”

When I was feeling discouraged about learning Spanish, we had a special speaker come to our Spiritual Emphasis week. He said that grit is more important than talent. People often take their talents for granted, but when it takes grit to learn something, people are more likely to stick with it in the long run. For the first time, I saw how struggling to learn Spanish was positive and perhaps a differently packaged “gift.”

Each of us has struggles where success may be based on true grit. If you wish you had more talent or that learning would come naturally and easy, then take a deep breath; remember that God is bigger than “your mountain,” and be encouraged that He is doing something great in your life. He is building up your grit!

Does this story resonate with you? Share your story at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

November 25, 2018

Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church is a Biblical community, in which people from all walks of life join together to worship our amazing God, grow in knowledge and relationship with Jesus Christ, connect with one another to find acceptance and friendship in the Body of believers, and then scatter to serve the world and our community in order to build God’s Kingdom here on earth.…